Big Rant!..... so.. if you take someone to a ‘honey hole’

[bessiedog]

I’ve always operated on the understanding ( though unspoken) .. that if you are taken to an super elk, or pheasant spot... that’s has taken The person great effort to Scout-figure-find and secure.... And these are serious out of the way spots...

That You don’t go there to hunt it by yourself ever. I feel it’s pretty rude to ask to hunt there even. If buddy is ok with you going there... he’d say it.

It’s like you just never ask people where the sheep are.... it’s just not done.

It’s just proper manners.

Needless to say... I’m seriously reconsidering who I share spots with....




Or am I out of line here and wasting a good mad/pout?

[58thecat]

nope....learnt that a long time ago and got burned....so that being said very selective of sharing spots etc with people...I trust only a few and yup they are family.....oh well lessens learnt.

[Hooter]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

nope....learnt that a long time ago and got burned....so that being said very selective of sharing spots etc with people...I trust only a few and yup they are family.....oh well lessens learnt.

Completely agree.

(BTW, see 58, we can agree on some things, just not about a spiked board placed under a Trump sign). 😉

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Hooter

Completely agree.

(BTW, see 58, we can agree on some things, just not about a spiked board placed under a Trump sign). 😉

you mention Trump one more time....haha..ya I get it...all good.

[Hooter]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

you mention Trump one more time....haha..ya I get it...all good.

😂. Glad to see we can still be internet friends. No hard feelings?

[savageguy model 111]

.

[cody j]

Some places are best hunted alone

[huntinstuff]

Never

I hunt with "the boys"

Small group. No newbs. No girlfriends, no wives, nobody

I get asked often. I offer areas that are open to anyone and I even give directions.

But to bring someone to the area I hunt? Chances of that are zero. Less than zero.

[1shotwade]

I took my sons friend with us on a hunt a few years ago so he could shoot ta deer. This was my property. The next weekend His dad and 4 buddys " Thought they had permission" !! Not a good outcome for them!

[urban rednek]

The problem is that some members of the hunting community are really fishermen/fisherfolk at heart. They would sell their first born for a productive honey hole.

[shep dog]

Originally Posted by urban rednek

The problem is that some members of the hunting community are really fishermen/fisherfolk at heart. They would sell their first born for a productive honey hole.

Not at all.

"Frenchman's Rule" still applies.

[3blade]

Draw tags - I’ll help if i can. Rather see guys who waited their turn be successful vs more-equals or poachers.

OTC tags - never. I do the work and so can everyone else.

Bad enough to go in there by himself. But if he told anyone or brought friends, he deserves to fall down a steep hill...multiple times.

[Dark Wing]

Apparently you have to let guys know how you feel about your spots but your better off just keeping them to yourself and maybe just share with family and close friends. It doesn’t take long to blowout a sweet elk spot when guys start blabbing or taking all there family and friends in. I think people who’ve never hunted crown land don’t realize the time and effort You put in to find these spots. I’ve been in your shoes a few times and know how stressful it can be.

[Smoky buck]

Rules amongst the guys I hunt with

1) if you find the spot together you have equal rights but you don’t bring in new people without permission from the other

2) if shown a spot you don’t go there by yourself unless you ask permission. Asking is fine but no is to be respected. All new people need to be cleared but if the original finder says no one it is to be respected

3) If you are told it’s a honey hole you are sworn to secrecy and you don’t dare ask to bring others there

4) If someone says they don’t care about the area you can hunt it whenever with whoever you please

5) If someone shares spots with you return the favor in the future

Anyone who breaks these rules maybe disowned, no longer invited hunting or possibly loose their front teeth

[marky_mark]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

Rules amongst the guys I hunt with

1) if you find the spot together you have equal rights but you don’t bring in new people without permission from the other

2) if shown a spot you don’t go there by yourself unless you ask permission. Asking is fine but no is to be respected. All new people need to be cleared but if the original finder says no one it is to be respected

3) If you are told it’s a honey hole you are sworn to secrecy and you don’t dare ask to bring others there

4) If someone says they don’t care about the area you can hunt it whenever with whoever you please

5) If someone shares spots with you return the favor in the future

Anyone who breaks these rules maybe disowned, no longer invited hunting or possibly loose their front teeth

Bingo

[mtnhunter]

I made this mistake once as well. Took a guy out to help him learn to hunt and get his first animal. Shortly after I find him and a whole group of guys hunting my private spot!!


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[Sooner]

Originally Posted by mtnhunter

I made this mistake once as well. Took a guy out to help him learn to hunt and get his first animal. Shortly after I find him and a whole group of guys hunting my private spot!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We did that once with an out of province guy who we randomly met in the city. Liked to hunt, knew no one and asked if he could come. No problem. We invited him to the crown land out south west of Fox Creek for a few hunts that year. Nice guy, very thankful.

Next year he had a lot more "friends" who hunted and was out hunting the same area for a week with them. When we met on the road, he was a bit sheepish as he knew we didn't want our spots given out.

Bugged us that he did it but in reality, he added 4 more people to the hundreds already hunting the area. We had the atvs, he and his new friends could only walk in so our out of the way spots were safe for a while anyways. Our issue was like many have said, we did the work to find the out of the way spots, now he had that knowledge.


Kinda like that old commercial, he told two friends and they told two friends and bam. Your secret spot aint so secret.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by Sooner

Kinda like that old commercial, he told two friends and they told two friends and bam. Your secret spot aint so secret.

Yup, the "Faberge Organics" effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcskckuosxQ

[KazIce]

My brother in law shared with me a great whitetail place. We agreed it was family only. Period. We know what happens when other people find out...


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[-JR-]

I hunted a oil road that has 3 leases on it takes 45 min to walk in and out .
It holds a hand full of female white deer and bucks come in every nov.
Most of them are nice 4x4 or better .
I have taken a few friends in there and told them never to shot the females.
They have all taken a nice buck out .
Been hunting it over 10 years .

one of them decided to return on his own . He shot all the females with his buddies .

The honey whole has no more deer .

[obsessed1]

Originally Posted by bessiedog

I’ve always operated on the understanding ( though unspoken) .. that if you are taken to an super elk, or pheasant spot... that’s has taken The person great effort to Scout-figure-find and secure.... And these are serious out of the way spots...

That You don’t go there to hunt it by yourself ever. I feel it’s pretty rude to ask to hunt there even. If buddy is ok with you going there... he’d say it.

It’s like you just never ask people where the sheep are.... it’s just not done.

It’s just proper manners.

Needless to say... I’m seriously reconsidering who I share spots with....




Or am I out of line here and wasting a good mad/pout?

Been there done that. Nothing makes me madder. Been burnt often enough I usually ask newer hunters where they plan on taking me?

[Positrac]

Wow, though crowd...lol.

I’ve had people take me into their “honey holes” before and I’d never think to go back in there by myself or even mention the spot to someone else. Wouldn’t even consider asking. That’s kind of an unwritten rule and it’s a respect thing.

But, I’ve taken people into good areas before or told people about good areas and I really couldn’t care less if they go back in there. Maybe when I was younger it would have bothered me but not for a long time now.

No place I go to is void of other people. If I’ve found it so has someone else. Heck if I’ve found it and it turns out to be a nice spot then someone else probably already considers it their “honey hole”.

I spend a lot of time out in the bush and usually only hunt the same spots a couple times a year. I think I bore easily. Finding new spots to me is half the fun. Or new ways of getting into spots. Then I spend a ton of time, months sometimes, thinking about how to hunt the area. Then it’s a trip in to check things out. If I’m not successful but the area has promise then I keep at it And will go back but if I get what I’m after then it’s on to the next spot. To me that’s half the fun and I quite often pass that info on to other people because finding the area and then planning how to hunt it is the fun part for me.

But, if I did find that magical spot that for some reason was overlooked by others and really meant something to me I’d keep it to myself and not tell a soul.

[flyguyd]

I feel your pain Bessie. Went thru that a few times back in the day. Im wiser now

[elkhunter11]

Only my closest friends get taken to my best locations. The only thing worse than poaching a good hunting spot, is using your name to try and get permission, or using your name if caught hunting there without asking permission. Neither has happened to me, but I do know of instances where both happened.

[Kurt505]

I showed a guy my spot, let him use my travel trailer for months for free and told him where we did not have permission.

He shot an elk where he knew we had no permission, broke the tv in my travel trailer and never offered to replace it, and brought out friends who I don’t know when I was not there and stayed at my place, then wonders why I kicked him out and have not spoken to him since...

[JDK71]

never only family

[creeky]

From "friends" showing up befriending landowners you have permissions on to figuring (stalking) your honey holes & using your name-seen it all, just don't do it-only grief and heartbreak will come of it.


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[tri777]

The way I see it, if you discover 'anything' that is good, tell someone and watch it disappear.

[KegRiver]

I guess I see things a bit different.

To my mind there is no such thing as my secret spot. Yeah there are places I hunt that only family knows of, but I don't own them. I have no more rights to them then anyone else.

Moreover, even when I haven't shown anyone my favorite spot, others find it, after I made trails into it, and they claim it as their own and tell me to stay to H out.

Really! I've been going there for twenty years, you found it a month ago and you think you have the right to order me off, CROWN LAND!!!
Or worse yet, and this has happened, My BROTHER'S LAND. And not just my brother land, it's the land I grew up on! The nerve!

So I share my honey holes. In part because I know what it's like to have no clue where to start and in part because I know it's only a matter of time before someone finds it and turns it into grande central station.

Don't matter how remote it is or how well I keep it a secret, someone will find it and ruin it. That's just the way it is these days.

Besides, I'd rather a hundred slobs find it then one outfitter. I've had more grief with those operations then any amount of private hunters, and I used to work in that industry. But back then it was run mostly by gentlemen, now it's the worst crooks in the country in charge of most outfitting operations.

I know several old time outfitters, salt of the earth kinda guys, and a couple of new generation outfitters, pond scum kinda guys.

The sad fact is, the whole world is changing. Those kinda guys, the pond scum kind are becoming the norm in all sort of endeavors. Not just outfitting, but private hunters, fishermen, even every day commuters.

It's one of the reasons I will always live in the north. We are and always will be the last place those kinda guys move to.

I feel for you guys that have to live among them.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by sns2

Dog feces in bucket. Add 3 parts hot water for each part feces. Put lid on bucket. Shake really well. Drive to your buddy's house. 1/3 on his front seat, 1/3 on his wife's front seat for marrying such a lowlife, and 1/3 splattered across the front door, being sure to cover the door handle. Leave.

Good heavens! Remind me never to get on your bad side, SNS!

Originally Posted by Positrac

Wow, though crowd...lol.

I’ve had people take me into their “honey holes” before and I’d never think to go back in there by myself or even mention the spot to someone else. Wouldn’t even consider asking. That’s kind of an unwritten rule and it’s a respect thing.

But, I’ve taken people into good areas before or told people about good areas and I really couldn’t care less if they go back in there. Maybe when I was younger it would have bothered me but not for a long time now.

No place I go to is void of other people. If I’ve found it so has someone else. Heck if I’ve found it and it turns out to be a nice spot then someone else probably already considers it their “honey hole”.

I spend a lot of time out in the bush and usually only hunt the same spots a couple times a year. I think I bore easily. Finding new spots to me is half the fun. Or new ways of getting into spots. Then I spend a ton of time, months sometimes, thinking about how to hunt the area. Then it’s a trip in to check things out. If I’m not successful but the area has promise then I keep at it And will go back but if I get what I’m after then it’s on to the next spot. To me that’s half the fun and I quite often pass that info on to other people because finding the area and then planning how to hunt it is the fun part for me.

But, if I did find that magical spot that for some reason was overlooked by others and really meant something to me I’d keep it to myself and not tell a soul.

I'm very much the same. That isn't to say that I haven't had the pleasure of being taken to new areas by my friends (and I uphold the sanctity of those areas) but I do love finding new spots. It gives me the opportunity to "give back" to those who have helped me. And honestly, spending time with those people is just as valuable to me as the hunting itself - and that tells you that these are people I care about and trust.

As for "gimme" spots or honey holes, that's not necessarily the places where you would take a first-time hunter anyhow. They need to know what it takes to locate those spots and, especially if remote, retrieve their game from there. Did that with my sons last weekend - They now have first-hand knowledge of what "after the shot" means. Plus they are learning what to look for so that they can find those places on their own. I think that is more valuable in mentoring than taking them to a honey hole in the first place.

And like Positrac says, some of our secret areas aren't necessarily so secret. A while back I got a text from a fellow forum member that he was stuck - when he told me where, I told him that I knew the exact hole where to find him. And here he thought that that was his "secret" trail - it turns out that we both used it regularly, although we rarely see others there.

I have to add, it is getting easier now that I can spend a bit more time in the woods. My new job is less taxing on my weekends and evenings, and the kids are bigger, and it gives me an opportunity to get them out of Incredigirl's hair, so I do have more time now to explore. So that means I don't put so much pressure on key areas, or need to rely on others to show me those areas.